Airbus will highlight its modern airliner family at the Dubai 2003 airshow

Airbus will highlight its modern airliner family at the Dubai 2003 airshow, with a strong presence involving no less than four of its aircraft.

Taking pride of place in the daily flying display will be the world's longest and most efficient long-haul aircraft, the A340-600, in Airbus colours. Complementing it, on the ground, will be the world?s longest range airliner, the A340-500, in Emirates livery, as well as the market-leading A330-200 and spacious Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) ? both in Qatar Airways colours.

Emirates, which will shortly become the first airline to put the A340-500 into airline service, is also the largest customer for the A340-600 ? as well as for the 21 st Century flagship Airbus A380. Qatar Airways is the largest all-Airbus operator in the Middle East, has a fleet comprising A330-200s, as well as A319s, A320s and A321s, and was the first airline with the Airbus ACJ and A319LR.

In addition, Airbus will have a large presence on the EADS stand (N° 633 in Hall

W), where visitors can experience features of the A340-600 and A319LR cabins,

and view models of all of the Airbus airliner family - including a one-twelfth

scale version of the A380. Airbus will also have a chalet (A45-46), where press

information will be available for journalists.

The region is an important market for Airbus, with carriers in the Middle East

and North Africa forecast to acquire some 620 airliners worth some $50 billion

up to the year 2018. Airbus already has a strong presence in the region, where

most major carriers fly its aircraft, having made them the cornerstone of their

fleet modernisation plans.

Airbus? A330/A340 family is the market leader in the 250-375 seat class, with

more than 800 orders from over 60 customers. Its cabin is a firm favourite with

travellers, who consistently vote it top in independent passenger surveys.

The ACJ has the best cabin of any business jet in its class, and features the same modern airframe and strong investment appeal of the A320 family, from which it is derived. It has already won several customers in the Middle East.

Airbus designs, builds and supports the world?s most modern airliners. It has a proven track-record of winning at least a half of annual sales of large airliners those with 100 seats and above. This year Airbus will deliver around 300 large-airliners, giving it the lead in these for the first time since the start of the jet age.

Since its inception in 1970, Airbus has won firm orders for almost 5,000 airliners and, today, has some 240 customers and operators around the globe.